JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Shares Climb 13.1% – Still a Buy?

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) shares traded up 13.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $3.59 and last traded at $3.5950. 13,425,126 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 26,468,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on JBLU shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $5.30 to $4.50 in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. UBS Group raised shares of JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of JetBlue Airways from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.89.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.92, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -1.32 and a beta of 1.90.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The transportation company reported ($0.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 56.96% and a negative net margin of 10.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Corporation will post -2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the third quarter worth $619,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 59.0% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 19,288 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 7,158 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways during the third quarter worth about $145,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 35.4% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 3,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 1,386.9% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 289,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 269,699 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S.-based passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation to destinations across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and select locations in Europe. The company operates primarily from focus cities including New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles, with a network designed to connect major metropolitan areas and leisure destinations.

JetBlue offers multiple classes and service options, including standard economy seating, extra-legroom EvenMore seats and its premium Mint service on select routes.